Published 5 October 2026 · By Jatin Dua, Broker of Record, RE/MAX Quantum Realty
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On my arithmetic, a first-time buyer household needed about $116,800 a year to qualify for the GTA-wide median condo apartment of $530,000 in August 2026, and about $120,600 for the City of Toronto median of $550,000. The GTA-wide median freehold townhouse, $840,000, needed about $167,900; Toronto’s $962,000 median needed about $191,000. That assumes the minimum down payment, a 30-year insured mortgage with the CMHC premium added, an illustrative 4.0% rate qualified at 6.0%, a 39% GDS ratio, no other debts, and the property tax, heating and condo fee assumptions listed below.
The short version
The useful question is not what you can afford in general, but what income a lender needs to see for a typical home in the city you want. Four numbers frame it, all my arithmetic at an illustrative 4.0% rate:
- GTA-wide median condo apartment, $530,000: about $116,800 of household income, and about $32,762 in cash to close.
- City of Toronto median condo apartment, $550,000: about $120,600, and about $38,222 in cash, because Toronto adds its own land transfer tax.
- GTA-wide median freehold townhouse, $840,000: about $167,900, with about $70,899 in cash.
- City of Toronto median freehold townhouse, $962,000: about $191,000, with about $97,148 in cash.
These are qualifying incomes, not comfortable incomes. Whether you should borrow to the line is a separate question.
Every assumption behind these numbers
They are the same for every row, so the cities compare fairly.
- Price: TRREB’s August 2026 median for that area and home type. One month; samples under 15 sales are flagged.
- Down payment: the legal minimum, 5% of the first $500,000 and 10% above that (FCAC).
- CMHC premium: 4.00% (loan above 90% of price) plus the 0.20% surcharge for amortizing over 25 years, so 4.20%, added to the loan.
- Amortization: 30 years, open to first-time buyers on insured mortgages since 15 December 2024.
- Rate: an ILLUSTRATIVE 4.0% five-year fixed, not a quote, compounded semi-annually. You qualify at the greater of contract rate plus 2 points or 5.25%: 6.0% here.
- Ratios: CMHC’s limits, 39% gross debt service (GDS) and 44% total debt service (TDS). No other debts unless stated.
- Property tax (ASSUMPTION): 0.7% of the price a year. Not any municipality’s rate; real bills apply the local rate to an MPAC assessment still based on 2016 values, so many buyers will pay less.
- Heating (ASSUMPTION): $75 a month for a condo, $125 for a freehold home.
- Condo fee (ASSUMPTION): $600 a month, of which 50% counts, per CMHC. Freehold: none.
- Cash to close*: down payment, land transfer tax after first-time buyer refunds (Ontario up to $4,000; Toronto’s municipal tax up to $4,475), and 8% Ontario sales tax on the CMHC premium, which cannot go on the loan. Legal fees, title insurance and adjustments are extra.
The formula, in plain English
The whole calculation, once, so you can check any row:
- Loan. Price minus down payment, then add the CMHC premium: loan × 4.20%.
- Qualifying payment. Monthly payment = loan × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r) to the power of −360), where r is the monthly rate from semi-annual compounding: r = (1 + annual rate ÷ 2) to the power of 1/6, minus 1. Use 6.0% for qualifying.
- Housing costs the lender counts. Qualifying payment + monthly property tax + heating + half the condo fee.
- Income needed. Housing costs × 12 ÷ 0.39. If you have other debt payments, also work out (housing costs + debt payments) × 12 ÷ 0.44 and use whichever is higher.
Worked example, City of Toronto median condo, $550,000 (my arithmetic): minimum down is $25,000 + $5,000 = $30,000. The base loan of $520,000 plus a 4.20% premium of $21,840 gives $541,840. At 6.0% over 30 years the payment is $3,223 a month. Add $321 of assumed property tax, $75 of heat and $300 (half of the $600 fee) to get $3,919. Times 12, divided by 0.39: $120,579, which I round up to $120,600.
The payment you would actually make at 4.0% is lower: $2,577 a month for principal and interest, or about $3,572 with the full condo fee, tax and heat.
Condo apartments: income needed by city
My arithmetic on TRREB’s August 2026 condo apartment medians: the GTA and Toronto rows first, then the other municipalities from most to least expensive.
| Area (TRREB, Aug 2026) | Sales | Median price | Minimum down | Payment at 4.0% | Income needed | Cash to close* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All TRREB areas | 1330 | $530,000 | $28,000 | $2,487 | $116,800 | $32,762 |
| City of Toronto | 885 | $550,000 | $30,000 | $2,577 | $120,600 | $38,222 |
| Toronto East | 127 | $482,000 | $24,100 | $2,269 | $107,600 | $29,394 |
| Markham | 57 | $563,800 | $31,380 | $2,638 | $123,200 | $36,920 |
| Vaughan | 63 | $525,000 | $27,500 | $2,465 | $115,900 | $32,147 |
| Oakville | 35 | $515,000 | $26,500 | $2,420 | $114,000 | $30,916 |
| Pickering (small sample) | 13 | $509,900 | $25,990 | $2,398 | $113,000 | $30,289 |
| Milton (small sample) | 14 | $505,000 | $25,500 | $2,376 | $112,100 | $29,686 |
| Mississauga | 109 | $500,000 | $25,000 | $2,354 | $111,100 | $29,071 |
| Richmond Hill | 33 | $500,000 | $25,000 | $2,354 | $111,100 | $29,071 |
| Burlington | 36 | $482,500 | $24,125 | $2,271 | $107,700 | $27,790 |
| Durham Region | 46 | $457,500 | $22,875 | $2,154 | $102,700 | $25,960 |
| Clarington (small sample) | 14 | $439,500 | $21,975 | $2,069 | $99,100 | $24,643 |
| Brampton | 21 | $425,000 | $21,250 | $2,001 | $96,200 | $23,582 |
| Oshawa (small sample) | 8 | $327,500 | $16,375 | $1,542 | $76,800 | $17,420 |
*Cash to close as defined in the assumptions: down payment, land transfer tax after first-time buyer refunds, and sales tax on the CMHC premium. Toronto rows include the municipal land transfer tax.
Read the small samples carefully. Oshawa’s $327,500 median came from 8 sales, Pickering’s from 13, Milton’s and Clarington’s from 14. Durham Region as a whole, $457,500 from 46 sales, is the steadier figure for the east.
The striking thing is how tight the condo band is. Outside Oshawa, the income needed runs from about $96,200 in Brampton to about $123,200 in Markham. Toronto costs more mainly at closing, through its second land transfer tax. For where those prices actually are, see the most affordable places to buy a first home in the GTA.
Freehold townhouses: income needed by city
Same method on TRREB’s freehold townhouse medians; no condo fee, $125 heat.
| Area (TRREB, Aug 2026) | Sales | Median price | Minimum down | Payment at 4.0% | Income needed | Cash to close* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All TRREB areas | 437 | $840,000 | $59,000 | $3,870 | $167,900 | $70,899 |
| City of Toronto | 45 | $962,000 | $71,200 | $4,414 | $191,000 | $97,148 |
| Toronto East | 15 | $800,000 | $55,000 | $3,691 | $160,300 | $73,978 |
| Richmond Hill | 38 | $1,026,350 | $77,635 | $4,701 | $203,200 | $93,825 |
| Vaughan | 31 | $1,005,000 | $75,500 | $4,606 | $199,200 | $91,198 |
| Markham | 39 | $995,000 | $74,500 | $4,561 | $197,300 | $89,968 |
| Oakville | 37 | $946,000 | $69,600 | $4,342 | $188,000 | $83,940 |
| Burlington | 15 | $870,000 | $62,000 | $4,004 | $173,600 | $74,590 |
| Mississauga (small sample) | 11 | $855,000 | $60,500 | $3,937 | $170,800 | $72,745 |
| Milton | 37 | $810,000 | $56,000 | $3,736 | $162,200 | $67,208 |
| Caledon (small sample) | 12 | $780,000 | $53,000 | $3,602 | $156,500 | $63,518 |
| Ajax | 16 | $762,500 | $51,250 | $3,524 | $153,200 | $61,365 |
| Whitby | 21 | $740,000 | $49,000 | $3,424 | $149,000 | $58,597 |
| Brampton | 50 | $735,000 | $48,500 | $3,402 | $148,000 | $57,982 |
| Durham Region | 71 | $722,000 | $47,200 | $3,344 | $145,500 | $56,382 |
| Clarington | 15 | $670,000 | $42,000 | $3,112 | $135,700 | $49,985 |
| Oshawa (small sample) | 8 | $630,975 | $38,098 | $2,938 | $128,300 | $45,184 |
*Down payment, land transfer tax after refunds, and sales tax on the CMHC premium.
Every dollar over $500,000 needs 10% down, so townhouse cash runs from about $45,000 to $97,000, against $17,000 to $38,000 for condos. Mississauga (11 sales), Caledon (12) and Oshawa (8) are thin samples.
The gap between the two tables is the real story for first-time buyers. Moving from the GTA median condo to the GTA median townhouse adds about $51,100 to the income you need and about $38,137 to your cash. If you are weighing the two, condo vs townhouse vs semi-detached covers the trade-offs beyond price.
Semis and detached houses: the GTA-wide picture
The same arithmetic for TRREB’s August 2026 semi-detached and detached medians, $125 heat assumed.
| Home type and area | Median price | Minimum down | Loan incl. premium | Payment at 4.0% | Income needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semi-detached, all TRREB areas (439 sales) | $866,000 | $61,600 | $838,185 | $3,986 | $172,800 |
| Semi-detached, City of Toronto (159 sales) | $981,000 | $73,100 | $946,032 | $4,499 | $194,600 |
| Detached, all TRREB areas (2,399 sales) | $1,100,000 | $85,000 | $1,057,630 | $5,029 | $217,200 |
| Detached, City of Toronto (550 sales) | $1,170,000 | $92,000 | $1,123,276 | $5,341 | $230,500 |
A detached house at the GTA median takes roughly $217,200 of household income at minimum down. All four sit under the $1.5 million insured-mortgage cap, so less than 20% down is still allowed.
What moves your number: debts, condo fees and a bigger down payment
Other debts. With no debts, the 39% GDS limit is what binds. Debts start to matter once they pass about 12.8% of your housing costs, the room between 39% and 44%. For the Toronto median condo that room is about $502 a month; for the Toronto median townhouse, about $796. Above that, every $100 a month of debt payments adds about $2,727 to the income you need. An $800 car and student loan combination on the Toronto condo lifts the income needed from $120,600 to $128,700.
Condo fees. Only half the fee counts, so every $100 a month of fee adds about $1,538 to the income needed. A $900 fee instead of my $600 assumption adds about $4,600.
A bigger down payment. More down shrinks the loan and, at certain thresholds, the premium rate too. For the Toronto median condo (my arithmetic):
| Toronto condo, $550,000 | Price | Down payment | Loan incl. premium | Payment at 4.0% | Income needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum down (5.5%), premium 4.20% | $550,000 | $30,000 | $541,840 | $2,577 | $120,600 |
| 10% down, premium 3.30% | $550,000 | $55,000 | $511,335 | $2,431 | $115,000 |
| 15% down, premium 3.00% | $550,000 | $82,500 | $481,525 | $2,290 | $109,600 |
Going from the minimum to 10% down cuts the income needed by about $5,600, and going to 15% cuts about $5,400 more. If family is helping, read how a gifted down payment works first. For the stress test itself, see the mortgage stress test in 2026.
One income, two incomes, and what to do with your number
Household income means both gross incomes for a couple. For a single buyer, a $120,600 requirement for the Toronto median condo is a high bar. I wrote a separate post on buying your first home on one income, with the price each income band supports and how a rental suite or a co-signer changes the arithmetic. If a parent is thinking of signing, read co-signer vs guarantor in Ontario before anyone signs anything.
Before you shop, run your own numbers in the GTA mortgage affordability calculator: it applies the stress test, the insured-mortgage rules and land transfer tax for the city you pick, and shows the cash you need on closing day.
Qualifying is not the same as comfortable: the lender looks at gross income, you pay from take-home pay. What the first year of owning really costs covers those, and what $500K, $700K and $900K buy maps budgets to neighbourhoods. A licensed mortgage agent gives you the real rate and approval.
If you want me to run this for your actual income, savings and target cities, ask for a written first-time buyer plan in the form below, book a call, or phone 833-330-1925.
Get your first-time buyer game plan
Tell me where you want to live, roughly what you have saved and when you want to move. I will send back a written plan: the price range your numbers support, every rebate you qualify for, the cash you need on closing day, and the areas where that budget actually buys something. Free, and it comes from me, not a call centre.
I will come back to you personally, usually the same day. If it is urgent, call or text 833-330-1925.
Frequently asked questions
What income do you need to buy a condo in Toronto in 2026?
On my arithmetic, about $120,600 of household income for the City of Toronto median condo apartment of $550,000 (TRREB, August 2026). That assumes the minimum down payment of $30,000, a 30-year insured mortgage with the CMHC premium added, an illustrative 4.0% rate qualified at 6.0%, a $600 condo fee, and no other debts. Debts or a higher fee raise it.
How much do I need to make to buy a townhouse in the GTA?
For the GTA-wide median freehold townhouse of $840,000 in August 2026, about $167,900 of household income on my arithmetic, with minimum down of $59,000. The range by city runs from about $128,300 in Oshawa (small sample) to about $203,200 in Richmond Hill. The rate used is illustrative, not a quote.
What is the 39% rule for mortgages in Canada?
It is CMHC’s gross debt service limit for insured mortgages. Your mortgage payment at the qualifying rate, plus property tax, heating and half of any condo fee, should not exceed 39% of your gross monthly income. All debts together, including car and student loans, should not exceed 44%, the total debt service limit.
Is the stress test still 2% above my rate?
Yes. You qualify at the greater of your contract rate plus 2 percentage points or 5.25%. That applies to insured mortgages as well as uninsured ones. At an illustrative 4.0% contract rate, that means qualifying at 6.0%, which is what every number in this post uses.
Does a 30-year amortization help first-time buyers qualify?
Yes. Since 15 December 2024, first-time buyers can take a 30-year amortization on an insured mortgage. The longer term lowers the payment the lender tests, so it lowers the income needed, at the cost of a 0.20% premium surcharge and more interest over the life of the loan.
How much income do you need for a $500,000 condo in Ontario?
On my assumptions, about $111,100 of household income outside Toronto: $25,000 down, a loan of about $494,950 with the premium, qualified at 6.0% over 30 years, plus 0.7% property tax, $75 heat and half of a $600 fee. Your own tax, fee and debts will change it.
Sources
- TRREB — Market Watch, August 2026 — condominium apartment tables by region and municipality
- TRREB — Market Watch, August 2026 — detached, semi-detached and freehold townhouse tables, and the MLS HPI benchmark
- Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — Down payment and mortgage loan insurance — 5% of the first $500,000, 10% of the portion to $1.5 million, 20% at $1.5 million or more
- Department of Finance Canada — Boldest mortgage reforms in decades come into force today (15 Dec 2024) — insured price cap $1.5 million; 30-year amortization for first-time buyers and new builds
- CMHC — Premium information for homeowner and small rental loans — premium by loan-to-value; 0.20% surcharge beyond 25 years; Ontario sales tax on the premium
- CMHC — Calculating GDS / TDS — 50% of condominium fees counted; 39% / 44% limits
- OSFI — Minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages
- Government of Ontario — Retail sales tax on insurance and benefits plans — 8% retail sales tax on premiums under taxable insurance contracts
- Government of Ontario — Calculating land transfer tax — provincial brackets
- Government of Ontario — Land transfer tax refunds for first-time homebuyers — up to $4,000
- City of Toronto — Municipal Land Transfer Tax rates and fees — Toronto only
- MPAC — Assessment cycle — 2026 taxes still based on 1 January 2016 values
Related reading
- Buying your first home on one income
- What $500K, $700K and $900K buy a first-time buyer
- Most affordable places to buy a first home in the GTA
- The first-year cost of owning a home
- How much home can you afford in the GTA?
- The mortgage stress test in 2026
- Minimum down payment in Ontario
- First-time home buyer programs in Ontario
About the author — Jatin Dua, Toronto and GTA real estate broker
I am Jatin Dua, Broker of Record and co-founder of RE/MAX Quantum Realty Inc., Brokerage, Unit 101, 799 The Queensway, Toronto. I work with buyers and sellers across Toronto and the GTA and have helped more than 100 families sell. Four-plus years of active GTA transactions and over $100 million in sales volume. Every figure here comes from a published table, regulator or statute linked in the sources, so you can check all of it without asking me.
Reach me at [email protected] or 833-330-1925, or book a call.